Unfortunate Sightings
by uwprincess
Summary: Josh can't believe his eyes and he doesn't want to. This story takes place following season six finale but makes references to earlier shows throughout.
1. An unfortunate sighting

Josh was stoked. Seriously. He had already pumped his fists in the air, taken a bow and exclaimed for all to hear that "He was da Man!" He was strutting the conference center with the unmistakable swagger and NOTHING could bring him down. Ok, almost nothing.

The third ever Santos McGarry campaign rally had seemingly gone off without a hitch. The first had been rocky, the second nerve-racking, and now the third, a flawless wonder. Josh couldn't believe he had pulled it off! Of course this isn't to say he hadn't had help. The entire West Wing staff had hit the campaign trail over the last two weeks to help start their Democrat successors off on the right foot. Let's just say that at the beginning it was a lot like the mishaps during Sam's campaign where children were stuck at Disney Land and the President insulted the French. Nevertheless, Josh was able to forgive and forget and was now happy to have C.J., Toby, Annabeth, Kate Harper and Charlie all there to rally the support of the voters (not to mention the President and Mrs. B.).

Aside from these West Wingers who descended from their lofty positions to get down and dirty on the campaign trail, Josh had assembled a crack squad of political operatives to pad the Santos McGarry ticket. He of course kept Rona around, her talent to remain calm in the midst of chaos was something that Josh sincerely appreciated. He had Bram, a tall and impressive aide from the campaign trail. He hired one not-so-slick member of the Hoynes' team who in a moment of lust tipped Donna off to his candidate's California trip cancellation. This guy had practically crawled with his tail between his legs to Josh and appealed to his ego when he said: "I want to learn from the best." The two Santos originals plus the new guy made three. Josh hired one from Baker's camp making four but he knew any good team would need to consist of seven: The Magnificent Seven, the Seven Deadly Sins, the perfect number, SEVEN! All of these were rules to his strategy and he must have seven.

Of course he wanted Donna. Not as his assistant or even his direct subordinate. He wanted her as the policy director. He wanted her as an ear to the constitutes and the one to have her finger on the American people's pulse. And that is exactly the way he propositioned her to come and work withhim. She drove a hard bargain, including the incessant reminders of Will's talents and great political skills (she had it from a reliable source that Josh had yet to reach his lucky seven). Josh finally gave in and against his better judgment invited Will to join the team. If Toby wasn't mad at Josh before, this move would've definitely sealed the deal.

So that was it: Josh, Donna, Rona, Bram, Will, Not so Slick from Hoynes, and the Baker Brat. He had his TEAM! And now this team had managed to pull off what he almost hadn't thought was possible.Did I mention that he was stoked?

He was now walking swiftly down the main convention corridor with shouts of applause echoing in his ears as red, white and blue balloons drifted aimlessly among thousands of happy Democrats. His work was done, the rally was finished and as long as the Congressman or Leo didn't fall off the stage while receiving this final thunderous standing ovation he was set! That's when Rona joined him in the hall.

"Josh" she begins, of course observing his smug overtones as she joined him in his overly hastened hustle.

"Yes Rona, my dear?" Josh shot back playfully enjoying his good mood.

"I haven't got numbers."

"Oh numbers, Rona, just listen to the cries of the people do you really think we need numbers at a moment like this?" He had thrown both his arms into the air and was spinning with an enormous dimpled grin as he exclaimed these words.

Rona had never heard Josh be so glib when it came to numbers. He had quite the reputation for being demanding in this very area (ok, I guess all areas) so his statement left her in a slight state of shock. She stopped walking and cocking her head to one side she studied Josh with a knowing smirk. "Are you enjoying this Josh?" she let out slowly, with a slight tease in her tone.

"Oh yes Rona I am!" Josh glanced to his side where he expected to find the short brunette but upon realizing that she had fallen behind he pivoted around, took her in his arms and spun her forward towards him. It was a quick and playful gesture that made her and Josh laugh and as they stood facing one another in the somewhat abandoned halls of the corridor Josh saw something over her left shoulder and it was his turn to freeze in his tracks.

Not too far up the hall and more towards where the large circle track turned slightly to the left, Josh spotted the back of a skinny blond and the unmistakable pointy face of Will Bailey. They were standing close to one another, and it looked like she had her hand up on his chest. He was talking and laughing and nodding and her shoulders were bouncing up and down so Josh assumed she too must be having a good chuckle. Josh squinted and was about to approach the secretive couple when _SHE _suddenly leaned in for a kiss.

"Josh?…ahh…Josh?" Rona was now looking a little frightened as Josh had yet to let go of her arms and was now tightening his grip every so slightly on her biceps.

"Josh?"

"No," he began, barely audible. He spun back around so that his back was now to the couple but his height restricted Rona's view.

"No, you don't want me to bring you the numbers as soon as I get them?" Rona liked Josh, but frankly these last few minutes had weirded her out immensely. He had literally gone from cloud nine one second to this zombie, sick puppy look the next. Not to mention he was STILL holding onto her arms and she was tempted to use a move she had learned in a self-defense class if he didn't back off in a few seconds.

"JOSH!" This final attempt to break through to him seemed to have worked. Josh looked at her, let out the breath he had been holding now for a good 45 seconds, and said eloquently "What…huh…what was that?" He looked down and realized he was still holding onto her and letting go he brushed his hands on both her shoulders to straighten her crumpled shirt as if he were inspecting a uniformed solider.

"The numbers Josh, I will get them to you as soon as I can?" Rona was now way past weirded out and felt like she must be dreaming this whole thing.

"Yeah, sounds fine." Josh was standing stiff and straight and not really making eye contact. His brow furrowed and he turned to look over his shoulder as Rona made a quick turn on her heels to rush away. "See you!" she sung, her eagerness to get away from him reflective in her voice.

"Yeah, bye." Josh said turning back towards her, the couple from the hallway was seemingly long gone and Josh was left in the expansive hallway feeling more than just a little claustrophobic.


	2. He can't believe it

"I gotta get some air." Josh could not believe what he had just witnessed. He felt ill and as if he was going to lose his last hot dog at any second. His thoughts had wandered briefly back to a time in Germany when one minute he was talking on his cell to C.J. and the next he was watching some tall, dark and handsome Brit kissing his Donna and playing with her toes. He knew that right now the same shocked expression had overtaken his face. He walked briskly towards the door of the convention center, loosening his tie and attempting to take deep gulps of air as he waked.

"I cannot BELIEVE her." He thought to himself shaking his head slightly and feeling anger overtake the shock in his system. "No wonder she wanted me to hire that dumbkiss for the campaign trail: she didn't want to be without him. I can't believe I missed it!"Josh continued to go over the facts in his head as ifhe was conducting an investigation:"She doesn't seem particularly attentive to him at staff meetings. I have never seen them sit together or share a laugh, nothing. In fact she is usually sitting by _me_, sharing laughs with _me!_ Perhaps she has been buttering me up in case I found out. They have been keeping apart publicly in order to hide their secret, but just in case and to cover her tracks, she has been distracting me with her charms!"

The paranoia in his thought process was lost on Josh who was now enthralled by the scenario he'd invented. "Well HA, I am on to her now. Ms. Donnatella Moss you cannot fool me any longer."

Josh was seriously ready to begin a second Spanish Inquisition, resolving to interview any and all staff as to whether they were aware of this secretive romance that was taking place right under his nose. He reached the glass doors at the back of the circular track in the convention center and slammed them open with one powerful push. He walked directly over to one of the guard gates set up earlier for crowd control and grasping it with both hands he leaned his head down below his waist in an attempt to relieve his nausea.

"Will Bailey?" He said with a scoff. "I cannot believe that she went for Will Bailey. Of all the smarmy little guys out there, she chose one that is obviously right on his way to succeeding me in the party when I am finally too old to do this anymore." Josh paused briefly to picture Will dancing on his grave.

Suddenly a thought occured to him that caused a slight loosening of the knot in his stomach:

"Oh!...Maybe it is just out of convenience!" The thought instantlybrought him comfort as heaudibly uttered this small prayer:"Dear God let it just be because he is convenient."

His reasoning contined that, "Of course Donna is just seeing Will because heis there, he has been present at all the events that she had attended since Lord knows when and sheis just using him because she can." For a moment he really did feel better, until it occurred to Joshjust what she could be using him _FOR. _A shiver went uphis spine and he stood to "shake off" the images that had unfortunately come to his head.

"No", he thought, "It can't be convenience, **I** was at all those events, **I** was with her for years before that and she never kissed me. Not like that anyway, not with her hand on my chest and her shoulders bouncing and her blonde hair swaying. She never kissed me and now she is kissing Will, and I know Donna is looking to fall in love….maybe she already has." His thoughts had been streaming a mile a minute but he paused now momentarily to allow this thought to sink in: "Maybe Donna had fallen in love and it was with Will Bailey."

"I can't take it." He thought, closing his eyes and again resuming his earlier position with both hands on the gate and his head bowed towards the ground. "I cannot support such a decison." He laughed at the thought of his opinon in such matters being considered by Donna.


	3. A truth Revealed

Down the hall and around the corner from Josh had stood two colleagues, two people who shared the stresses of a highly visible and fast paced career, two people who felt like they had no one covering their backs. Will, well he had been working for a candidate who DIED on him, moved to the West Wing where he was made the constant butt of practical jokes, and then finally called a traitor by the very man who had brought him there to begin with. Will felt that in all this misery he deserved a little happiness, perhaps he deserved her. She, on the other hand, had been cruelly disappointed in failed relationships. She had seen powerful men at their worst and she had been made to be quite when she felt her voice, her opinions should matter. She just wanted to feel wanted, she hoped that someone would see past _what_ she did to see _who_ see was.

So that is why at several of the Democratic events that had taken place throughout the past few months they had made it a point to be around one another. They made it a point to sort of "take the night off" and just enjoy each others company, enjoy the time spent just standing next to someone and not having to talk or impress, just BE.

And now the culmination of all those nights was finally here. The fact that Josh had hired Will to be a part of his seven strong team afforded these two the opportunity to continue their friendship, the chance to see if it could be something more. With the kiss, she now knew that it could.

She couldn't believe that she did it. He had been making some snide comment, one of those statements he makes that he doesn't mean to be funny but they just are. She was already so comfortable with him; heck she had her hand resting on his chest. He must work out, she loved a man who could obviously defend himself, never mind her. And then it just happened, she was picturing him working out, thinking of his quirky humor, his obvious intelligence and how he had been there for her the past few months and she kissed him. Right there, in the middle of the hall, when they were supposed to be working no less!

"Oh man, I hope no one is watching us!" This thought was practically the first one in her head, right after "wow, he can really kiss." Not wanting it to end but not wanting to be spotted, Kate Harper pulled back from Will and gave him a furtive come hither glance before leading him away. She had been on several top-secret ops and she now considered this new mission one that she was really going to enjoy.

Will and Kate slipped around the hall in the convention center with the false assumption that they had never been spotted, that their kiss was a moment shared just between the two of them, and that it would have little to no repercussions for anyone else. Boy were they wrong!


	4. Another Unfortunate Sighting

Donna stood in a second story office overlooking the long walkway of the convention center below. She was the last one in the office tonight, shutting down the computers of a few of the other staffers and turning off lights. She knew she could leave these types of jobs to someone else now, but it was just in her nature to leave things tidy. She turned off the last lamp in the office and went to shut the blinds in the room.

As she approached the window, she saw Josh swaggering down the hall and as an enormous grin covered her face, she paused to watch him. He had done really well. She had worked her butt off, everyone on the team had, but it was Josh's vision and direction that had made tonight a success. She was pleased to see him so happy. She made a mental note to stop by his room that night and bring him a beer, sort of return the favor.

She knew he couldn't see her, the lights off and the blinds practically drawn, so she watched a little longer than maybe she should have. She closed her eyes, just for a moment, and breathed in deeply, remembering the smell and feel of her old boss. This isn't to say he is not still her boss, it is simply that she is not his assistant. She is almost his equal, and it doesn't matter to her for any sort of arrogant or ambitious reasons, but it matters. It's true, the wording is all semantics now, but there is a true difference between her's and Josh's working relationship and it has not been lost on Donna.

Now she stands enjoying his stride and almost moves to try and make her presence known when she sees Rona approach him. She suddenly remembers why Rona is on her way to see Josh. The numbers aren't ready and Donna knows how particular Josh is about this. She almost feels a twinge of guilt for sending Rona down there…almost. She decides to watch just to be sure he doesn't get too worked up. She knows Rona has been working with him for a while now but come on, Rona couldn't possibly know Josh as well as she did.

So far so good, it appeared Rona had taken up the challenge of keeping pace with Josh, who apparently appreciated the effort for he was shooting her a grin right now. Rona must have been putting off the reason for her visit because Josh was practically dancing as he threw his arms in the air and spun in a circle. Donna couldn't help but laugh out loud at the scene he was making. She hoped Rona was used to his dramatics because he was definitely in full performance mode tonight.

"Uh oh, I guess she is not used to this type of behavior" Donna thought as Rona stopped short in her tracks. "She thinks he's a nut!" She stated out loud finding great humor in her words. But suddenly a realization came to Donna. Rona's body language doesn't seem to indicate that she thinks he's a nut. In fact that cock of her head and slight grin could almost be considered flirtatious! Donna realized that Rona's quick-stop had been noticed by Josh who was now seeking her out.

"HEY, THAT'S MY MOVE!" Donna said in disgust. The quick hallway stop almost always got a big response from Josh and Donna could see that Rona was benefiting from her strategy when Josh turned and swooped her around in his arms. They were now sharing a laugh!

Donna stared in indignation and disgust as her trusted barer of bad news seemed to have taken an unapproved approach to interacting with Josh. She couldn't believe the scene until Josh froze in place.

This was a moment she recognized far too well. This was the certain outcome of many of the moments that she and Josh had shared, when he would be charming and wonderful and then all too sudden stoic and somber. Donna even recognized the look on Rona's face, almost felt empathetic towards the girl…almost. She recognized the confusion as to why Josh had changed, why he had been so great in the first place if he was only going to turn into this…this empty shell. Donna could see how intense the moment was between them as Josh's knuckles showed white with his grip on Rona's arms. She could read Rona's lips say his name, the same way Donna must have whispered it time and time again when she was with him.

Josh turned he and Roan around again, Donna guessed he was trying to keep the intense emotional moment between himself and _Rona_ light.

"Oh Josh, you are such and idiot." Donna thought. She saw his head shake a slight "no" for Rona. Now the scene was almost more than Donna could bear. She was looking at Josh, seeing the broken look of hesitation that she recognized so well. She began to cry. Rona's back was now to Donna but she could see the tension building in her petite frame. She seemed to be moving from the laughter of a second ago, to confusion and now anger.

She must have said something to Josh indicating that he should let her go, and Donna watched as he removed his hands from Rona's arms and carefully brushed his hand across her shoulder. Donna could not believe what she was seeing. And then almost as quickly as they had drawn together Rona turned oh her heels and rushed down the hall.

"Oh my gosh," Donna thought, her left hand held over her mouth and her right grasping her stomach, trying to calm it's flips inside her. She felt so betrayed. She felt as though Josh had been showing this side to Rona that was only reserved for her. And what's worse, Rona seemed to turn it down. "How could she be so stupid?" Donna gasped with disbelief. Donna struggled with feeling anger at Josh for wanting Rona, as well as the urge to go to him, to make him feel better if the stupid girl had hurt him; mostly she just felt anger…and heartbreak…and…more than just a little claustrophobic.

"I gotta get out of here" she sobbed, and exiting to the hall she walked immediately for the stairwell.


	5. Anger blinding one's view

Donna was not two steps down the stairs when she heard someone approaching. She sucked it up and wiped her eyes, never one for dramatics, although she always seemed to wear her emotions on her sleeve. Continue down another six steps she found herself directly above Rona, returning from her "moment" with Josh.

"Hey." Rona began in a "oh, I am surprised but glad I ran into you" sort of way. "I just told Josh about the numbers, but I don't know if he really heard me." She stated although her tone seemed more like a question.

"Urgh." Donna thought. "If I have to stand hear and listen to this I think I might punch her out." Donna was not prone to violence however tonight she felt few would be safe from her overwhelming desire to beat something, especially Rona.

"Really." Donna stated as calmly as possible

"Yeah" Rona began, apparently mistaking this time as "girl talk" or "gab time" or something other than what it really was. "He was like totally high one minuet like saying he didn't care about the numbers and the next he was like totally quiet and dramatic and serious…although it didn't seem to have anything to do with the numbers."

Rona had been babbling and Donna had been focusing on trying NOT to push her down the stairs when Rona's comments started to sink in. "So all you discussed were the numbers?"

At this point Donna was staring squarely into Rona's face focusing her full attention on whether or not the girl was lying. "Yeah" Rona responded in a way that made Donna feel she had curtailed a "DUH" from her statement. Rona might be a little too chatty for Donna's taste at this particular moment, but she did not seem to be lying.

Donna's thoughts wandered to what could possibly be going on. "So you say he just froze up?" She asked the question almost to the air.

"Yeah." Rona began, "He was talking, then he was holding my arms, then it was like I wasn't even there, then he was messing with my shirt and then I was outta there. I couldn't even tell you what was happening, except that maybe Josh is off his meds!" Rona thought this was amusing and began to laugh with a few intermittent snorts. She concluded with this statement: "Guys Josh's age are so odd. I think they are like in emotional denial or something"

Suddenly Donna had a thought. She had been tying hard not to cast an evil glare at the snorting colleague when it occurred to her that Rona saw Josh as a boss and only a boss. Not only that, but she saw him as an OLD boss, she hit the road when Josh was obviously in distress and did not take the time to even find out why. She is definitely not giving off the vibe that she has feelings for him, consciously or unconsciously, and Donna felt certain she would recognize that vibe.

Rona had continued on with a few other observations on "men Josh's age" that Donna could have obviously cared less about. Nevertheless, her brief conversation with Rona had lifted like a thousand pound weight from her shoulders and loosened the knots in her stomach. She debated whether she should give Rona a quick kiss on the forehead, since she was practically looking down right at it, or just excuse herself politely. She went with excusing herself, not surprisingly, and continued down the stairs.

Donna's movements were now much slower, she was not burdened with the same sadness that filled her thoughts moments ago, rather now she had a deep concern for Josh. Her Joshua. What could it be that sent him into that mode?

Donna knew it well. She had seen it first when she'd had to deliver the news of his father's death. She had seen it when he discussed the shooting and after his PTSD. It was the face he held when Mrs. Landingham died and the President announced his MS. To sum up, Josh tried to keep that side of him inside of him, and it wasn't pulled out without good reason.

Now Donna was worried. Her steps quickened to the point of almost a sprint and by the time she burst through the double doors leading out into the cool night air she had practically imagined Air Force One crashing to the ground taking The President, CJ, Charlie, Toby and Zoey down with it and landing on Josh's mother's house. Josh of course had received this information by divine intervention and was now in depressed spiral that only she and possibly a shrink named Stanley could fix. Now although she knew these possibilities may have been a little extreme, she also knew that she was worried and wanted to find him.

So, to her relief she did not have to look far. She spotted his body bent over and clutching the guard gate almost before she saw it. It was almost as if she sensed his presence although he was a good 15 yards away.

"Josh" she called, winded and moving towards him. Her call caused him to straighten slowly, and he turned as if he didn't believe his ears that she was there.

"Donna?" The confusion on his face was evident. "Are you ok? Did he hurt you?" The alarm in his voice was so intense that Donna almost didn't take the last three steps to reach him.

She grasped his upper arms and he held her around the waste leaving the "professional distance" of about 18 inches between them.

"What?" she asked breathless and confused.

"Did something happen? What'd he do?" Josh was acting with a mix of protectiveness and sheer insanity that left Donna even more perplexed.

"I was going to ask you if you were alright? What did who do, Josh?"

"Will." He said, again with the same "DUH" space on the end that Donna felt Rona wanted to use, however Josh's comment came with the added feeling of hatred and disgust in just one syllable.

"What?" Donna said again. She was shaking her head and trying to catch her breath when Josh whispered.

"I saw you."

The blank expression that overtook Donna's face only managed to make Josh angry. He at once let go of her waist and took a step backwards, his lower back making contact with the guardrail almost immediately. Now instead of compassion and concern the only emotions Josh displayed were disdain and rage.

"Wha..what are you talking about Josh?" Donna was definitely thrown. Whatever the news was, it must be really bad. Either that, or Rona was right and Josh had lost if for real this time. She watched him cautiously, trying to keep her utter confusion masked from her face. She didn't want to upset him further.

"Donna!" He shouted, the way he always had a thousand times before, only this time it was different. "Don't try to lie to me. I SAW you. I saw you and I saw Will and you are both fired. Yeah, that's it you are fired!"


	6. The first fallout

"Josh, I have no idea what you are talking about." Donna's face had her confusion painted all over it and her eyebrows threatened to overlap they were so furrowed.

"Donna, don't play dumb with me…" his voice was high, a few octaves above his normal speaking voice. "I saw you in the hall with him, I saw you and I am not ok with this."

"Josh, what did we do? What were we doing that you are _soooo _not okay with?" The confusion Donna felt was turning to anger faster than she would have anticipated that it could. "Who is he to treat me this way?" She thought. "As my supervisor I can understand a professional reprimand but to threaten to fire me? He is way out of line." Donna's inner commentary was the perfect demonstration to herself that she had indeed grown during her time away from Josh while working on the Russell campaign. She was not about to stand here and let him treat her this way. Just as she was about to open her mouth to say so, Josh spoke up:

"Donna, I thought you aware, I knew I was at least, of the importance of maintaining professional relationships with your co-workers. The kind of trouble and scandals this could cause are catastrophic to a political campaign and I CAN'T BELIEVE I AM EVEN HAVING TO TELL YOU THIS." Josh's voice was still filled with anger but a certain level of incredulousness had crept in leaving him to finish his tirade almost with smirk on his face, albeit a "_what the hell are you thinking_" type of smirk.

"Is he talking about us?" Donna held her breath as she listened to her hysterical friend's bluster. She felt her face flush as his voice went from an uncomfortable squeak to an all out shout. Suddenly she didn't care if he was proposing marriage to her in this roundabout rant; she was not about to be spoken to in this manner.

"Josh!" She made her hands into fists and punched them down to her sides. She stood up as straight as she possibly could and with all the strength she could muster began her response to his attack. "First of all you are not simply **_telling_** me anything, you are **_shouting_** at me! And while I know you are my supervisor and friend, this is not an appropriate way to handle a conflict and I expect courtesy and respect from you when dealing with professional issues." Donna knew she was rambling slightly, but she also knew that she was making good, sound sense. She was not about to stand there and let him take out his problems on her, not anymore anyway.

Then he began to laugh. Not a good laugh either. Again his incredulousness was so heavy it was practically making Donna ill. "FRIEND? You call us FRIENDS?" He was shouting even louder now than before as he motioned his arms between the two of them. "I would not say that this is the way you treat a friend, Donna. This is not the type of courtesy that I would like from my friends…and who the hell are you to lecture me on professionalism when you are _SLEEPING_ with _WILL_?" He had gotten right up in her face to scream the last part.

"Oh, I guess he is not talking about us." Donna thought. Her emotions were all over the map, she went from fear to rage and simple shock in a matter of seconds. It was right then, when he was inches from her face and breathing heavy, his eyes practically bulging from his head, that two secret service agents came jogging around the bend in the building, apparently they had heard a "slight disturbance" from their posts on the other side of the convention center.

"Mr. Lyman? Ms. Moss? Are you two…ok?"

OK was about the last thing either one of them felt. The agents caused Josh to do a reality check, he stepped back from Donna, this time turning so that the guardrail was to his side insuring that he wasn't trapped between it and Donna. He cast his glance over her face. She was staring at something behind him, her eyes cast downward, anger seeping from them. Her breathing was heavy, as was his, and her fist were still clenched at her sides, squeezed even tighter than a moment ago.

"Yeah, we're just fine" Josh lied. Waving his hand in the air to the agents, who had stopped after turning the corner and remained a full 30 yards away.

"Ms. Moss?" The second agent called to her, following standard protocol of receiving affirmative answers from both parties that they were ok.

"I'll be fine, Derek." Donna spoke but did not turn around. She had a special bond with these agents, she took the time to learn their names, learn who they were. She didn't want to take them for granted.

"Alright then." Derek seemed slightly reluctant, but he and Agent Kline turned back, and went to resume their positions out of sight and, under normal circumstances, out of earshot of Donna and Josh.

Donna looked up from the point on the ground that she had been focusing all her attention on. She was practicing relaxation techniques she had learned in a yoga class. The instructor had called them: _techniques for when you feel nuts_. Donna was sure that she had never felt this "_nuts_" in her life, she could even think of a few more descriptive words for it if she wasn't such a lady.

"Derek?" Josh said the agent's name in the smuggest of tones; "What, are you sleeping with him too?"

Donna opened her mouth to begin what he assumed was an apology and what she meant as a telling off for his unbelievable behavior. Before she finished her first syllable, he put his hand in the air to silence her and said bitterly, "I don't even want to hear it."

He turned and began to walk away, tears forming and nausea retaking its place in his gut.

Donna was stunned for a moment before spitting to his back "Good, because you are not even worth the breath." Her first were so clenched at this point that they were starting to hurt. She released them, but felt the tension in her shoulders increase ten-fold. She stood still, tempted to either throw a rock at his head or charge him at full speed and tackle him. She chose to do neither. She watched as Josh stormed away, looking less and less like the man she felt so strongly for, and more and more like an angry old man.

Donna felt nothing inside. That's not entirely true, it is just that she was pushing out all her emotions in order to keep herself from bursting into tears. "What just happened?" Never in her life had she seen the bitterness in Josh reach such a level, and never before had this much of it been directed anywhere towards her. "What am I going to do?" She knew Josh may very well been serious about firing her, and she also knew that at this moment she had no problem with leaving.

"I guess I should pack." Donna stated this out loud, though no one was around to hear it. She nodded her head and mustered up all her resolve to move upstairs. She arrived to her room and carefully placed her newly purchased wardrobe items into her bags. She had bought these in celebration of the new job, the new opportunity to be with Josh. Now, she doubted she would ever want to wear them again.

She sat down on the bed and reached for the hotel phone. After several ticket counters and call transfers she had finally secured herself a seat on a Delta flight that left at 9:30 tomorrow morning. She was going to go to Wisconsin. "A trip home is certainly in order." She thought, "I haven't been home in months."

She sat at that side of the bed, staring at the phone and wondering what was going on. Before the first tear could fall, she rushed to the bathroom and jumped into the warm shower, allowing her sobs to be drowned out by the forceful and steady stream of water.


	7. His fall down

While Donna was silencing her sobs in a steady stream of water, Josh was silencing his with a steady stream of liquor. He had returned to his room after a lap around the convention center. He had to hold himself back from physically attacking _Derek _whom he unreasonably suspected as being one of Donna's new boyfriends. The mental image of the secret service agent snapping his flimsy body in two was enough to keep Josh off the warpath, but barely. Instead Josh walked an extra 20 yards out of his way in order to avoid being anywhere close to the two agents. He was embarrassed and he was ashamed. That's when he decided to drink.

Josh lay on top of the covers in his hotel room with his tie pulled loose and the top buttons of his dress shirt pulled open. He had finished all of the mini bottles that came with his mini fridge and even the three beers that had remained from a victory celebration earlier in the week.

He thought back to that get together just four nights ago. He and Donna had been so happy. They spent the evening poking fun of some of the big wigs they had met earlier who were financially supporting the campaign. This made them believe, to Josh and Donna's amusement, that they were entitled to treat the staff as hired help and the campaign policies as their own private wish list. They laughed as the Congressman's son stuffed 3 bar cherries up his nose right in front of these "dignitaries" before anyone else caught him and made him retire for the night. Donna had dared Josh to attempt the same and laughed whole heartedly as he tried to stuff one up her nose instead.

She had been so beautiful that night. There was something different about her look now. She seemed more sophisticated and had a take-charge type air about her. Josh definitely noticed the new additions to her wardrobe. Her classic beauty never ceased to amaze him, even in the plainest clothes she looked good, but now these power suits made her look…his equal. And she was, in everyway.

Their working relationship had grown in leaps and bounds as well. She was reporting on policy issues and going round for round with Josh when trying to persuade the Congressman to see things from a new perspective, "_a Presidential Perspective if you will_". Donna had used that phrase and it had become one of Josh's mantras.

So Josh continued to lie there, continued to feel sorry for himself but not quite sorry for the things he had said, not yet anyway. But as he thought back over their conversation, or the on-sided ranting session, he felt a knot form tighter and tighter, first his stomach, then his throat, finally his chest.

He knew he had been wrong to scream at her that way. He knew she wasn't sleeping with Derek, man, he had practically called her a slut. That alone was enough to make her hate him. "Why was I such a tool?" He asked himself over and over again and he realized: even if she was sleeping with Will, how could he blame her for choosing someone else when he never told her that he wanted to be an option?

The thought of her in bed with Will still sent shivers up his spine. He pictured that moment of the two of them in the hall, so secretive, so…close. He realized that he hated her at that moment only because it wasn't him. He was devastated that she had come back to him and chosen Will. It wasn't quite the same as the NRA boyfriend, he was dashing and all, but he lived in a separate nation. Will, he was here, he was around and was going to be around, he was marrying potential! The idea of loosing her to Will made the pain in his chest elevate even higher. Josh didn't think he was going to be able to breathe, he suddenly knew he had to get to her, he had to tell her not to marry Will. Not without letting him try to love her the way he knew he could.

Josh looked down at the empty bottle of JD in his hand. "I have got to go see her." He glanced over to the bedside clock, it was a quarter till 1:00. "I have got to tell her…" he began, "I have got to tell her that I want her, that I need her and that I will compete with Will to get her! I want the chance to be unprofessional with her too." His final thought made him grin and as he got up to find her, the all too sensitive system hit him like a Mac truck. The room spun and Josh flopped instantly back onto the bed, this time face down on the pillow and sleeping within literally 20 seconds. His snoring was so loud that he woke himself up briefly, but he was gone again less than a minute later.


	8. Her emotions fail

Donna stepped out of the shower over 45 minutes after she got in. One of the benefits of the hotel was the endless supply of hot water and Donna had taken full advantage. The steam that filled the tiny hotel bathroom was thick, covering the mirrors and just hanging in the air. It was probably best that Donna not see her reflection at this moment. She had finally managed to stop her heavy sobs; the tears had run out over 20 minutes ago but the heavy gasps had continued and the swelling around her eyes clearly reflected the earlier tears. Her breath now was ragged, but even. She looked as if she had gone 10 rounds in a boxing match and she felt like it too.

She stood nude in the bathroom while combing through her hair before slipping into the thick hotel robe and collapsing on her bed, face down on top of the covers. She breathed a heavy sigh, praying that she wouldn't burst into tears, and was out seconds later, exhausted from the evening events.

The next morning she got her wake up call at 5:45 am. This was not a new part of her routine, she had become so accustomed to wake up calls at this hour that she almost feared she wouldn't be able to go back to her regular alarm clock. She pushed herself up from the bed and immediately rushed to the bathroom as an overwhelming sense of nausea hit her. Her head was pounding but worse than that she felt an overwhelming sense of heartbreak. She was leaving. Her bags were packed and sitting by the door, her letter of resignation would have to come by fax. She was not about to write it now, maybe she would work on it on the plane.

Her thoughts wandered all over the place but mostly just to Josh and what had happened. Sleeping with Will? Sleeping with Derek? Where had these things come from? Why had he acted out in such a way and why couldn't she just forget it? Donna was struggling with this more than the rest of the previous night's events. She was unwilling to simply forgive him. This whole thing was obviously some sort of misunderstanding, some sort of nervous breakdown on his part, but she couldn't bring herself to feel compassion for him. For the first time in her life there was no part of her that longed to hold him, to comfort him, to be with him. It was a little scary to her. No, it was a lot scary to her.

She paused for a minute to focus on her reflection in the mirror. She looked rough. She wasn't mad per se. Josh had always been a shouter, he had yelled at her before but usually his accusations were based on some truth. This thing about Will, this was just bizarre. Josh had also been jealous of her dates before, his temperament always changed when she dressed to go out. Donna went over the issues in her head as she brushed her teeth, but as she puzzled over the differences in Josh's normal shouting and last night, Josh's normal jealousy and last night, Donna felt herself moving farther and farther away from the situation. This was Josh going crazy, and she didn't care. She was getting the heck away from him.

"This is what it feels like to have a strictly professional relationship." Donna said this out loud and nodded in affirmation to her reflection. If any other person treated me the way they did last night I would quit, anyone would. Technically she had been fired but Donna dismissed this, thinking that surely Josh would take this back if he ever were to return to normalcy. But she didn't care, she was leaving. She had survived working without him for months, she could do it for the rest of her life. Let Josh Lyman be somebody else's problem.

With that Donna gather her things and headed wearily to the elevator bank and down to the lobby. It was so surreal for her to be leaving him for a second time. The first time he had dismissed her quitting, this time he had fired her in a fit of rage. She shook her head and thought that now must be the time to cut her losses. She was still young enough and life would go on. As she slammed the taxi door, Donnatella Moss thought, minus a few outstanding paycheck issues, that she was free of Josh Lyman for good.


	9. The Truth is seen

He awoke with a sudden start. His head was spinning and he almost didn't make it to the wastebasket to deposit some of last night's stomach contents. He sat for several minutes, the basket between his legs, his head resting against the connecting door to the other room.

"Oh my God" he managed to say after a few dry heaves and a whiff of his own creation.

"What's wrong with me?" He thought. Then he suddenly remembered…the night before.

"Oh my GOD!" He leapt up quickly almost spilling the contents of the can but was forced to sit back down on the bed because of the intense feeling that the room was moving. "I really do have a sensitive system," he commented to himself.

Josh got up a little slower this time and made his way to the shower. "I have got to see her but I don't think I can go like this." He stood in the cold stream and tried to formulate a plan. He could not come up with anything. "What have I done?" he thought. Desperate to see her, he shut off the water and pulled open the curtain. It is only then that he realizes he has no more clean towels.

"This isn't shaping up to be such a great day." He glanced to the filled wastebasket as he reached down to a pile of old damp towels in the corner of the bathroom and cringed as he wraps it around his waste.

He looked like hell. His hair, which he had been keeping shorter lately, was overgrown and sticking up around his head. His whiskers too were overgrown and gray and his eyes were red from the emotional events of the night before. He took a deep breath and rubbed his hand over his head in an effort to calm the curls.

Five minutes later he is out the door and heading to the elevator bank. He is wearing jeans and a navy sweatshirt; his dark sunglasses complete the look of a total morning after drunk. He steps on the elevator and rides down one floor to where Donna was staying. He suddenly remembered that he didn't even know what time it was. His crappy watch was no help; he had lost track of what time zone they were in like 4 states ago. He decided he didn't care, he had to see Donna.

He began knocking lightly on her door at first. "Donna?…Donna?"

The lack of an answer led him to knock a little harder until he was literally pounding on her door. His need to see her overtook the urge to give his still slightly inebriated mind a break from all the noise. "DONNA?"

The panic in Josh's voice and body reached an all time high as he continued pounding on her door and shouting in the hotel hallway: "Open up I need to see you. I'm sorry Donna and I am a jerk and I don't care if you slept with Will. I don't care! I want you to sleep with me if you'll have me and if you won't then please just be my friend and be my co-worker and be with me. Donna be with me!"

Josh stopped pounding and was practically crying against her door as he heard the room behind him open. He turned to see Will and a blond standing in the room behind him.

"Josh? What the hell are you doing? Could you please shut up and stop making a fool of both yourself and the Santos Campaign?"

"Donna" Josh yelled eagerly looking past Will and into his room. He skipped past Will pushing his arm off of the doorframe and entered the room failing to see the look of confusion on Will's face. Josh was grabbing the hands of the blonde before anyone knew what was happening and the moment Kate Harper looked up to meet his glance Josh felt nauseas again.

"Oh my God". He sighed, the excitement of seeing who he thought was Donna replaced by total dread. "It's you."

"Josh, please don't be offended and don't think I am going to interfere with the campaign, it is just personal between me and Will and we will keep it professional to the public." Kate misinterpreted Josh's odd behavior as a political agenda, since that was the only mode she ever saw him in.

"No" Josh said, closing his eyes and letting go of Kate's hands. He stumbles to sit down on the rumbled bed. Will has closed the door and put on his glasses although he is still dressed only in the boxers and undershirt he answered the door in.

"Josh?" He asks, waving a hand at robe clad Kate to let her know that it was alright. At least he hoped it was alright.

"no, No NO!" Josh stated shaking his head and then dropping it into his hands and lowering it between his legs he asked to no one in particular: "What have I done?"

"Josh, you said Donna. Did you think that Donna was in here? Did you think that I was sleeping with Donna?" Will asked tentatively knowing that he was on a sensitive subject.

"Uh huh" Josh confirmed, his answer sounded as if he was dying.

"And you were ok with that?" Will asked incredulously, "that she might be in here?"

"No, Will obviously not." Kate answered for Josh, "Hence the banging on the door at 6:45 in the morning and the shouting that she should sleep with _him_."

Josh was too upset to be embarrassed and he felt he must confirm what he already knew to be true. "Last night, in the convention center…downstairs…you two…you were kissing in the hallway." He almost couldn't get it out.

"Yeah, Yeah we were" Kate said "And it was entirely my fault."

"Hey, I didn't mind it" Will jumped in to try and protect the lady.

"I…I thought it was Donna." Josh whispered more to himself then either of the innocent victims in the room. "I thought it was Donna and that she chose you!" He now glanced up at Will with a look of terror in his eyes.

"What did you do?" Will asked, fearful of where this was going.

"Well, I fired her…and you." Josh stated matter-of-factly. He rose from the bed patting Will on the shoulder and nodding. Will, for the first time, caught a whiff of the alcohol emanating from his pores.

"Oh." Will tried to follow Josh's lead and pretend what he was saying was not the least bit embarrassing. "Then what did you do?"

"I think it is pretty obvious that I went back to my room and got drunk, Will!" Josh shouted this last part out of annoyance before realizing that he was really only angry with himself. In a softer tone he turned to both Kate and Will: "I'm…I'm sorry to have bothered you. Really."

Curiosity getting the better of her Kate asked, "What are you going to do now?"

Josh pulled a room key out of his back pocket and stated, "I am going to check on Donna."

"If you had the key all along what was up with the knocking?" Will asked quizzically.

"I thought _you_ might be in there." Josh's bitter statement made his face turn green for the hundredth time that morning. He turned and let out a resentful chuckle as he threw open Will's door and inserted the key card into Donna's. Third times a charm and as he pushed the door open into her darkened room Josh's head hung in despair as he realized her bed was empty and her closets were bare. Donna was gone.

"What have I done?" He asked the darkness.


	10. A little bit of payback

Josh turned and took off down the hallway with two half dressed members of the campaign team watching him go. They almost felt like shouting cheers of encouragement but settled for just watching him until he exited out the stairwell entrance and vanished from their line of vision.

Josh bounded down the stairs and into the hotel lobby where he was observed by several surprised members of the desk staff and one family of four finishing up the complimentary continental breakfast. Out of breathe and oblivious to his odd behavior Josh collapsed on the desk and asked "What's the fastest way to the airport from here?"

"Which airport are you trying to get to Mr. Lyman?" Josh's face wrinkled with frustration as he began in a slightly hysterical tone, "I'm not sure. There is more than one? Where is one that flies to say…Wisconsin?"

It is now that the hotel clerk begins to clarify. "Mr. Lyman, we have two airports within a 45 min driving distance of the hotel. One is the commercial airport that is commonly used for travel, and one is the residential airport for private pilots. This is the airport you yourself have used when Congressman Santos flew you in."

"What? You call that an airport? That was a shack with a few roadways and two porto potties."

His remarks are not well received: "Mr. Lyman that is Kidney Cosmopolitan Airport and my grandfather helped design it". The hotel clerk was getting hostile in response to what she perceived as Josh's snooty attitude.

"Well, Martha," Josh paused to look down to her nametag "I mean no offense to that fine establishment, but in the future when I say Airport I mean the one with BIG planes and long security lines and tourists like these!" Josh hysterically gestures back to the family of four dressed in matching pale orange t-shirts and each carrying cameras around their necks.

"Mr. Lyman those are the Clarks and it just so happens that they are on their way to O'Brien International in our hotel shuttle on which there is plenty of room for yourself."

At this point another hotel clerk, Cheryl, has stepped in to deal with Josh and is motioning for him to board the fifteen-passenger van that has just pulled up in the hotel circular drive.

"Great, thanks so much, that'll be fine". Josh turns and practically sprints to the shuttle, only to observe the pyramid of luggage that is being carefully loaded by one preteen bellhop into the back of the van. Josh waits in the front seat for a minute before he jumps out of the van and begins hoisting the bags into the back. The young bellhop is startled but thankful for the help and states sheepishly "we can split the tip, but just to let you know I have to ride shot gun because Monty doesn't know the way to the airport."

Josh nods his head but thinks of nothing but Donna, the airport and getting the shuttle on the road. Slightly out of breath from the hoisting and heaving Josh returns to the front of the van just as the Clark family is loading up. "Let's get a move on people!" Josh can't help but shout this statement in total exacerbation after it takes over 4 minutes for Mrs. Clark to squeeze her backside through the van door. The young bellhop returns to open the adjoining side door causing Mrs. Clark to loose balance and fall out, only having to start the whole ordeal again. Josh feels as those he is going to have a heart attack right there and then.

After the Clark parents, the two Clark kids, who now sit on either side of Josh in the second row of the van, the pre-teen bellhop and the foreign van driver load into the shuttle they pull out of the driveway and into a seemingly endless standstill of traffic. Literally stretching for as far as the eye can see Josh only has a second to panic before he is startled into the air by the blast of a large semi horn answering the eager gesticulating of his seat partners.

"I got that one!" The girl shouted.

"No way that counts for me!" the older boy yelled back.

Their fight was only interrupted briefly when the mother turned to state sweetly "You two should really put on your seat belts, and that goes for you too Sir if you know what's good for you."

Josh obediently buckled up and sat in the hell that was the Clark Shuttle pool feeling almost as though he had paid the price for his outburst at Donna…almost, but not quite.

Over an hour later Josh arrived at the airport after one bathroom break for the junior Mrs. Clark and the upsetting incident where the boy managed to spill his entire grape slurpee onto Josh's sweatshirt and into the crotch of his jeans. Maybe fate was trying to get him back just a little bit for the night before.

When he finally got out of the van, Josh was not exactly the Prince Charming one would hope would chase you down to the airport. But he was just regular old Josh. Crazy haired, slurpee stained, hung over and repentant Josh, and he HAD to find Donna.


	11. Emotional Recaps

Meanwhile at the other end of the airport Donna sat at her gate waiting for the boarding call to begin. She felt so hollow inside. She felt so betrayed by a fate that would allow her to get so close to Josh only to have their chance to be together, even if only as co-workers, ripped away.

She tried to recount the night before but it always left her feeling nauseous. She would start with the joy of the campaign event. She remembered feeling proud for Josh that he had accomplished so much with his "magnificent seven"- the seven that he had invited her to be a part of, the seven that was now breaking up. She remembered overlooking the convention hallway from the office and the way her heart and quickened and her breath caught in her chest just at the sight of Josh and his "I'm da man" strut.

Then she remembered Rona. Poor Rona had almost had her head ripped off last night for no reason- but as it turns out Donna had gotten that honor instead. In the stairwell Donna had been so jealous of Rona that she couldn't see straight. It wasn't until Rona admitted that she thought Josh was old and crazy that Donna knew the girl was no threat; the hope of being with Josh was still out there, it was still a possibility. Donna remembered rushing down the steps to find the man she knew she wanted to be with, if only to console him as a friend.

What had happened next caused the tightening in her stomach to increase ten fold. She remembered his body draped over the guardrail. She remembered approaching with the full intention of comforting Josh but as he turned to face her she did not see a hurt that he needed her to help him through, she saw anger and a face covered with the sting of betrayal. Josh thought she was sleeping with Will, and apparently a secret service agent named Derrick.

Donna stopped recalling the night's events momentarily as she placed her face in her hands, rubbing her eyes with her palms and breathing a deep sigh of release. "Sleeping with Will?" She said the question quietly to herself as she straightened back up in her chair and shook her head disbelievingly. She was angry, and rightfully so, as she let her thoughts drifted to being home and far away from Josh Lyman.

At that very moment Josh was engaged in a hysterical dialogue with the desk staff of Continental Air. It had been a while since he'd flown commercial and Josh had become accustomed to having the Senator fly him around out of smaller and less regulated airports. At this point in the conversation Josh was trying to find the cheapest ticket he could purchase to get himself through the security gate in order to see if he could find Donna because the desk staff was unwilling to divulge any passenger information. He was also dangerously close to being carted off by security and at one point had been questioned about the large stain on the crotch of his jeans. The dark glasses were no help. He was not a happy man.

The security line was long, but not unbearable; that is not unbearable to anyone who isn't trying to track down the love of their life to apologize for accusing them of sleeping with someone else. To that type of person it is excruciating. The guards didn't like that he had no baggage. They found Josh's mannerisms to be skittish, they had been radioed about the dark glasses and stain. The straw that broke the camels' back, however, was when Josh showed his boarding pass, a ticket to Nantucket that left in 8 hours, and then promptly asked for the gates flying to Wisconsin. It took less then 20 seconds for him to be surrounded by guards and be ushered into a small room to the side of the security station. He had considered sprinting but thought better of it after recalling a time that Toby was taken down by a secret service agent with one swift, possibly judo move. He was instead grabbed on either side right in his armpits and slightly lifted off the slick tile floor so that only his toes drug along the ground as the security men led him off.

"No, guys, you don't understand. I have to find Donna. I am here because of Donna!"

The security guards did not find Josh too threatening after his slightly incoherent ramblings on a woman named Donna who apparently DOES NOT work for him and IS NOT sleeping with Will.

Recognizing a fellow man probably so far in the doghouse that there was no return, the security guards did a little research. They reported back with sorrow that there were several flights that had already left for Wisconsin that day, none of which they could give him the passenger information on. To make matters worse, there were two flights leaving in less than an hour on opposite sides of the airport for this very state! Josh hung his head in defeat realizing that first off he wasn't even sure she was going to Wisconsin and secondly he would probably never make it to the proper gate on time.

"What's the deal with all the Wisconsin flights?" he asked dejected as he filed from the room.

In all seriousness the guard replied that, "This month is national cheese appreciation month and people flock to the cheese mecca".

Josh laughed bitterly to himself as he knew for certain that Donna would have known that type of information. He looked up to see a wall of security cameras spanning the foyer of the security room and it was in less than a second that his eyes fell on Donna sitting straight up in an airport chair rubbing her forehead as if she had a headache. He froze in his tracks, bringing his hand to his mouth before pointing eagerly to the screen.

"That's her! That's my Donna! Where is that?"

"Gate 26 A" one guard announced just in time to see Josh sprint from the office and down the crowded corridor to the A wing tram. His heart was racing faster than Josh thought possible.


	12. Forgiving Fate

As he hurried along the crowded corridors of the airport, Josh took back all the evil things he had said about fate in the past eight conflicted years of his life; ever since Donna had shown up in his office pretending that she already worked for him. Okay, maybe it was a little inconvenient that last night fate had allowed him to jump to conclusions about Will and Kate's kiss (or what he thought was Donna and Will's kiss). Maybe it was EXTREMELY inconvenient that just moments later she had confronted him and he had spent a good deal of time berating the innocent and confused Donna. Never minding, of course, the torturous moments in the past when he wanted to reach for her, to kiss her, to tell her so much more than he could in. For these reasons and moments alone Josh could have been bitterly angry at fate, turned his back on the "what ifs" of life.

BUT, was it not these very situations that gave Josh the courage to tell Donna how he felt? Were the events of last night not the impetus for his getting out of bed early this morning despite his hangover and heading for her room? And how convenient of fate to allow Will to answer the door with Kate Harper still in her bathrobe so that little doubt could be left in Josh's mind about what had really occurred.

As Josh continued through the airport recounting this scene he again felt the sense of relief that had washed over him this morning at the realization that Donna was not with Will. Although he had told himself that he could handle their relationship as long as she gave him a chance as well, Josh was thrilled to know that he wouldn't have to put up with Will's affections and attentions toward **_his_ **true love. Josh almost skipped at the thought of Donna being his true love and quickened his already frenzied pace to a jog.

His therapy session with fate almost came to an abrupt stop when Josh recalled the trip with the Clarks to the airport. Never before had he been so overcome with the desire to hit a woman as when Mrs. Clark spent double the amount of time it took her to load into the van to get out of it. And she did this a total of four times thanks to the slurpee stop that Josh now displayed proudly across his jeans. The $207 plane ticket that he had no intention of using also caused a small sting in Josh's gratitude to the powers that be. However he figured that Donna was worth 100 million times that amount of money and vowed to never complain about that purchase for as long as they both should live. Josh's eyes brightened and his smirk spread to a full out grin when that particular phrase ran through his mind.

He was lucky, lucky to have fate on his side when he was taken into the security room for what he feared would turn into a frisking session but instead was granted the commiseration of the guards and an opportunity to see his Donna flash across the security camera's monitor. That last coincidence, the moment that would make cynics mutter "what are the odds of that happening?" or "that would only take place in fanfic," that unexpected chance coincidence gave Josh the confidence that Donna was going to forgive him and accept his offering of love, marriage, family and forever. How could fate let him come so far only to have her turn him down? It wasn't possible. He felt as though he was going to explode he was so eager to reach her and immediately Josh went from jogging to a full out sprint down the terminal. He was in love with Donna and he was just 10 gates away from telling her!

As she sat with her head in her hands Donna was suddenly aware of a disturbance in the humdrum routine of an average overcrowded airport. It was almost as if a new energy was causing whispers and giggles from the general population around her. Donna had spent a few moments watching a rather plump family dressed in matching orange t-shirts that had recently taken seats across the terminal from her. As she glanced up now, Donna saw the family pointing simultaneously at a commotion that seemed to be parting the oncoming crowd of airport travelers. She stood to get a better look at what a lot of people were apparently balking at when she spotted Josh Lyman sprinting full speed down the center of the crowd. He was definitely making a scene, the way his arms were flailing and his hair, damp with sweat and pretty overgrown, was half stuck to his forehead and half flying in every which way. And as he got closer, she could make out a dark stain across the front of his sweatshirt and jeans. His appearance and actions gave ample reason as to why he was causing such a fuss among the crowd. Donna was so struck by the oddity of the scene that she failed to wonder why he was there and why her pulse had quickened until he was standing directly in front of her, panting and grasping her arms.

"Donna" he began with a breath that was desperate for both her attention as well as fresh oxygen for his lungs. "I love you. And I am so, so sorry for the things I said to you last night and today. I am so sorry that I accused you of something that you had every right to do but weren't doing and for acting like I owned you instead of like I wanted to be owned by you. Because that is the truth Donna, I want to be yours in every sense of the word and I want to deserve to be with you and near you and never cause the same kind of crappy scene that I caused last night. So I am sorry for firing you, and for crossing the line of professionalism last night but mostly I am sorry that I didn't cross that line a long time ago when I first realized that I was in love with you. Please, tell me that I have a chance to make it up to you, that I have a chance to be with you."

Donna felt acutely aware that the airport humdrum was now being focused on she and Josh. If they thought a crazy man running through the airport was something worth whispering about, the only thing that could be more gossip-worthy was his confession of love to a woman who used to be his assistant! Of course, they didn't really know that she used to be his assitant, but she still felt like they might. The awkwardness of all of the eyes in terminal A being focused directly on the couple made Donna stare witha bambiesque expression past Josh's right shoulder and more towards the orange shirted tourists in the background. Donna suddenly realized that she should be focusing on what this man had to say. This man, whom she both loved and loathed, whom she hated yet desired, who fired her but now was standing before her confessing his love…this man…_her_ Josh.

Donna felt her eyes begin to fill with tears and her skin felt as though it was on fire where he grasped her arms. "Josh?" She said his name with a relief and acceptance that made his heart skip a beat.

"Yes, Donnatella? My beautiful, wonderful Donnatella?" He used his right hand to push her hair behind her ear before returning his hand to herarm. He wasn't sure if she had heard anything he just said but her shoulders had relaxed under his touch and she was not yelling at him so he took both of those things to be a good sign.

"Would you just hold me?" Donna collapsed into his chest as years of tension and high wire acts vanished and Josh simply held her to his chest and rubbed her back. Had he come right out and said it? She hadn't heard it but she hadn't really been listening either. Donna was pretty sure that Josh was confessing his love to her. She was also pretty sure that he had apologized, said that she had every right to sleep with Will if she had wanted to, told her he viewed her as a professional, and that he never wanted to make a big dramatic scene again. She laughed and considered that three out of four ain't bad. Josh was growing and seeing her as an equal, plus he loved her, what more could she ask for?

She wept tears of relief and joy at the fact that he truly did love her and that all her years of devotion and holding onto the "what ifs" were finally working out for her. She began to forgive fate for the evil things she had accused it of in the past. And moments later, at exactly the right time, just as fate would have, Donna pulled back and Josh planted the deepest, most passionate kiss that has ever been witnessed in terminal A of O'Brien International Airport.

She could feel the eyes focusing in on them even as the insistent voice of a gate steward announcing the final boarding call for Wisconsin's flight 200 echoed overhead. She didn't think many of her fellow passengers had made their way to the plane yet, and she knew for certain that she would not be going. As she pulled back from his embrace just enough to look him in that dimpled grinning face of his, she smiled and opened her mouth to speak.

"Shhhhh" Josh interrupted her, "let me just say that I love you".

She grinned so wide that her cheeks hurt and moved in for another kiss. As if the spontaneous cheers from the surrounding crowds weren't bad enough, Donna suddenly saw dozens of flashes of light as if she had stepped out on the red carpet. Pulling back again she realized that it was the orange shirted family snapping away at them with the four separate cameras that hung around their necks. Her cheeks had been flushed with passion, they were now red with embarrassment.

"Ummm, Josh?" She questioned, tapping him on the shoulder and pointing in their direction. "Are those reporters for any paper that you recognize?"

Josh just laughed out loud and said "No, those are the Clarks, without whom I might not be with you today." At that moment he forgave fate for the shuttle ride to the airport.

Donna gave him a quizzical look to which he replied "I will explain it to you later." He put his hand in the air and waved to the Clarks who joyfully shouted back almost in unison:

"Congratulations Mr. Lyman! Wait to go!"

"Remember grape slurpees forever!" the young Mr. Clark exclaimed as he pumped his fist in the air and attempted to amuse himself in a moment that most boys his age would find disgusting. His mother quickly grabbed his arm and turning him toward the gate, the four rotund Clarks happily boarded their flight to Nantucket.

"Grape slurpee?" Donna questioned, feeling as though the entire past few minutes were something out of a daydream. Josh pulled his body back from her own to reveal the stain on the front of his clothes.

"Ah, yes, of course, grape slurpee" She replied with an amused shake of her head and flip of her hair.

"Yeah, you in the mood for one?" He grinned devilishly and made Donna laugh out loud as they strolled hand in hand back down the terminal.

"Yes, Josh, I believe I am…I just so happen to LOVE grape slurpees!"

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Months later an envelope came to Josh's office delivered by his new assistant Stephanie.

Flipping it over in his hands he saw the words PHOTOS DO NOT BEND etched across the bottom of the manila paper. He unclasped the top and pulled out multiple shots of he and Donna in the O'Brien International Airport, terminal A. They were from four different angles, one shot prominently focused on the slurpee stain. Josh laughed delightedly and checked for a return address: "Honey?" he called at the open door adjoining to his office,

"Yeah, Josh?" Donna stuck her head into the room to see Josh grinning like an idiot.

"I have one more address to add to the wedding list."

"Another?" She asked, obviously far along in the plans for the event.

"Yeah, just one more, this is a good one."

She pulled out a notebook and stood ready to take it down: "The Clarks" he began, "In Nantucket".

Donna grinned and dropped the notebook, she walked over and wrapped her arms around Josh glancing down at the photos in his hand, "You know, now that I think about it," she purred, "I could go for a little grape slurpee right about now!"

For the 100th time in his life, Josh forgave fate for the spilling of young Mr. Clark's grape slurpee!


End file.
